Do you think animals have a 6th sense?

[LauraGB]

A sense of other beings that we humans just don't understand?

 

My dog did a very scary thing the other day and it makes me so sad. I can't stop trying to figure it out.

 

She's always been aggressive "looking" when she's afraid; she gets her hackles up, barks, growls, but always backs away because there is no way she's facing what scares her. I have never actually seen her go after anything or anyone. But the other day, dh and I were walking the dogs through the park and a man jogged past, and honestly, if I hadn't been able to hold her back, I think she would have launched herself on him and attacked him. She saw him and went completely ballistic. It was frightening. And I don't understand. We had passed numerous joggers, not just on this walk, but many others. We stopped and talked to old strollers, people with dogs, children, all of whom pet her and things were a-okay. And on the way to the car after this jogger incident, we passed another jogger, about the same size and jogging the same speed, angled the same way heading toward us, and she didn't even notice him. :confused:

 

There are four other people she literally can't stand. Three are men and one is a woman. The three men have several qualities in common, but the woman? *I* can't see it. (I'm not a big fan of hers, personally, but I've never told my dog that, lol)

 

We have had this dog since she was 4 or 5 weeks old. She has never been abused at all, ever, by anyone, and she is very much loved. The only thing I can figure is that she "sees" things in people we don't see.

 

That's weird. But it's all I can come up with. Do you know animals like that?

Edited August 23, 2011 by LauraGB

[Firefly]

I had a similar experience with our black lab, many years ago. He was a big friendly guy-- might bark at someone walking by the property but was always calm and friendly to people who came to the door and especially once welcomed inside. Well, one day we were having some carpet installed and he was standing behind me as the workmen came in. First one came in, no problem, second, third-- the fourth guy came in and he went crazy! I had to hold the dog back... he ignored the other guys, completely focused on this one worker. There was definitely something about that man he didn't like. I had to drag him off to the bathroom and lock him in there the entire time they were installing the carpet. Never before or after did anything like that happen with him. So, I'll never know exactly what it was, but it made me believe animals can sense things about people that we might not be able to perceive.

[ktgrok]

Well, even if they don't have a 6th sense they have much better senses than us. So your dog will notice your breathing rate change and your smell change (cortisol levels, etc) when you are stressed a bit. So they sense that and act accordingly. There are other things they can smell, hear, and notice that are really out of our ability, so it can seem like a 6th sense.

[annandatje]

I believe that both humans and other animals can often sense volatility and/or hostility kept under wraps to keep up social appearances. I do not believe that it is a sixth sense but just garden-variety animal instinct. With all the buzz in our world, it can be difficult at times to tune in to our animal instinct. I would trust strong instinctive reactions in both people and canines.

Edited August 23, 2011 by annandatje

[astrid]

Yes, I do. And I always, ALWAYS trust my dogs' judgement when they do things like you described. It has only happened a handful of times in my lifetime, but when it has, I've always validated it. My dogs are show dogs-- they go everywhere and see everyone, people of all walks of life, in all situations, stressful and not. When they exhibit a sudden, intense dislike toward a person, I trust that they have a reason. I can't understand it, but I"m a mere human. Dogs are so much better at picking up subtle signals, chemical changes, and so many other variances we can't even fathom.

 

Good girl!

 

astrid

[justamouse]

Considering that dogs have been trained to sniff cancer, and know when an epileptic seizure is coming, I sure bet the dog was right, but about what, we may never know.

[Pixjen]

I think animals can sense things about people that we can't. Not all the time, and not all animals...but I believe some can.

 

I had something like that happen to us a little while ago. We were walking our dog in the park, when a man with a dog came by. Our dog was happily sniffing away at his dog (it was on a long leash), but the closer he got to me the more aggressive/protective she became. By the time he was parallel with me, she had wedged herself between him and I, and was pressed up against my legs with her hackles up and had a low growl.

 

It was a bit disconcerting because she's a BIG dog (100+ lbs) and I didn't know what she was going to do. As soon as he passed she was fine. We passed a LOT of people that day, before and after that guy, and she didn't even twitch. But something about him.... *shrug*

 

My mom has had it happen too with various dogs she's owned over the years, and none of them have ever shown any aggression any other time. I don't know if it's a sixth sense, but I do think that animals are more in tune with body language and behavior than humans. We tend to pooh-pooh or ignore our gut instincts and intuition about people.

[4wildberrys]

Absolutely! But cats are the same way. Before our super friendly dog died in February, he had a couple of incidents like that. He was ALWAYS friendly to everyone---and then one day a man obviously on drugs approached my husband on our front sidewalk, and this dog went ballistic! We were floored---but also amazed. Trust that and be very thankful. The dog we still have we consider the 'Bad Friend Detector' for our kids---she literally will NOT leave the kids that always seem to turn out to be bad friends alone when they have come to our house. She will follow them around and aggressively nudge them.

[LibraryLover]

Yes, because they do. :) There is a lot of documentation on this. Some dogs can also 'predict' human siezures or sniff out cancer.

 

One of my dogs can whine about about a thunderstorm 3 hours down the road. Handy thing if you ask me.

[LibraryLover]

Considering that dogs have been trained to sniff cancer, and know when an epileptic seizure is coming, I sure bet the dog was right, but about what, we may never know.

 

 

You beat me to it! :auto:

[Farrar]

But to me these things aren't a "sixth sense" - they're just the animal's natural senses combining in ways that we don't understand fully or relate to. Just like a dog can't understand all the ways that human senses and think combine to allow us to do and understand all the things we do.

[LauraGB]

But then how do we explain how other animals don't sense the same things? In my case, both of our dogs were present for this particular incident and the other was completely clueless about everything. The other dog likes everyone, even the people that the the first dog can't stand.

 

To be fair, the first dog, the one that reacts so harshly sometimes, is uber-sensitive to most things, and the other...well, he's just naturally relaxed about everything.

[LibraryLover]

It's true one of my dogs is less sensitive. Maybe she has a 5.5 Sense. :)

 

But then how do we explain how other animals don't sense the same things? In my case, both of our dogs were present for this particular incident and the other was completely clueless about everything. The other dog likes everyone, even the people that the the first dog can't stand.

 

To be fair, the first dog, the one that reacts so harshly sometimes, is uber-sensitive to most things, and the other...well, he's just naturally relaxed about everything.

[LadyR]

My dog once acted unusually and it has always made me wonder what she was sensing at the time. She doesn't like thunderstorms and always wants to run down into the basement if the thunder is loud. Well, this one day the storm was particularly violent and she was FREAKING OUT! I opened the door to the basement expecting her to run down but she wouldn't go. So I coaxed her, even held onto her collar and tried pulling her to the door. She pulled backwards and there was NO WAY I was getting her into the basement. Literally 5 seconds later our house got struck by lightning. The bolt went through the gutter, into the plumbing pipes THROUGH THE BASEMENT, and exited out a basement window causing a hole in the window and a huge rut in the ground outside where it exited. She still runs downstairs during storms, so I've always wondered if she sensed something that one day.

[Stacia]

Do you think animals have a 6th sense?

 

Yes.

[Cricket]

My dog once acted unusually and it has always made me wonder what she was sensing at the time. She doesn't like thunderstorms and always wants to run down into the basement if the thunder is loud. Well, this one day the storm was particularly violent and she was FREAKING OUT! I opened the door to the basement expecting her to run down but she wouldn't go. So I coaxed her, even held onto her collar and tried pulling her to the door. She pulled backwards and there was NO WAY I was getting her into the basement. Literally 5 seconds later our house got struck by lightning. The bolt went through the gutter, into the plumbing pipes THROUGH THE BASEMENT, and exited out a basement window causing a hole in the window and a huge rut in the ground outside where it exited. She still runs downstairs during storms, so I've always wondered if she sensed something that one day.

 

Ooo, that is so weird! When one of our previous labs was a puppy, she reacted strangely to some one. I would walk her down the street every day and she always was so friendly to everyone. One morning a man we hadn't seen before came walking towards me. I didn't notice anything weird but she immediately started growling and the hairs on her neck stood up. She stayed like that until he was well past us and she wouldn't turn her back to him. As soon as he was gone, we resumed our walk. We had her for years and she never did that to another person. It actually freaked me out at the time. I made sure to see if he came back before we went home so he wouldn't know where we lived. :lol:

[LauraGB]

Several of you mentioned labs...How many of you are referring to labs when you talk about these incidents? Rosie is a lab...(our other dog is not)

[LibraryLover]

Several of you mentioned labs...How many of you are referring to labs when you talk about these incidents? Rosie is a lab...(our other dog is not)

 

 

My brilliant and intutive dog is 1/2 lab, 1/2 collie. Our less intuitive dog is not either, but is a wonderful watchdog. I would say she is even a bit more alert to her physical surroundings than the lab mix.

Edited August 23, 2011 by LibraryLover

[LadyR]

How many of you are referring to labs when you talk about these incidents?

 

Alaskan Malamute

[Pixjen]

Mine is an American Foxhound. She looks a lot like this, except her tail is a Q. She's my 100+ lb lap dog. :D

 

[gardenmom5]

some animals do - I think it varies just like with people.

 

There is the story of the nursing home cat who is rather standoffish, but staff noticed the cat would spend time with patients just before they died. there was even one patient the staff was certain was going to die within hours, and they kept trying to get the cat in her room, but the cat refused. the cat was with another patient, who did die. the first patient lived a few more days. they documented this happend over a dozen times, and the families came to appreciate it as it was the "sign" they needed to come and have their family vigil so they could be there when their loved one passed on.

[Lilymax]

:iagree:

 

My now-deceased husky/shepherd mix did the same thing once. We were out on a walk and though she looked like a wolf and her appearance often worried people, she was always friendly to everyone. But this group of teenaged boys were walking along the other side of the street and she went nutso! I could barely hold her leash--she was growling and lurching and her hair stood on end. They cursed and ran away from us. It was the only time she ever did that. I definitely think she knew something that I didn't, and possibly saved me from it!

[kitten18]

Considering that dogs have been trained to sniff cancer, and know when an epileptic seizure is coming, I sure bet the dog was right, but about what, we may never know.

:iagree: My SIL has had a few seizures, on the days she had her seizures, her dog was very upset and tried to get her to stay at home. This same dog also knew when SIL had breast cancer. She would sniff, paw and whine at the breast that had cancer.

She is an Australian Shepherd, she has never had any formal training, but a couple of her littermates are seizure dogs.

 

My dog once acted unusually and it has always made me wonder what she was sensing at the time. She doesn't like thunderstorms and always wants to run down into the basement if the thunder is loud. Well, this one day the storm was particularly violent and she was FREAKING OUT! I opened the door to the basement expecting her to run down but she wouldn't go. So I coaxed her, even held onto her collar and tried pulling her to the door. She pulled backwards and there was NO WAY I was getting her into the basement. Literally 5 seconds later our house got struck by lightning. The bolt went through the gutter, into the plumbing pipes THROUGH THE BASEMENT, and exited out a basement window causing a hole in the window and a huge rut in the ground outside where it exited. She still runs downstairs during storms, so I've always wondered if she sensed something that one day.

Wow.

[WishboneDawn]

Yes, because they do. :) There is a lot of documentation on this. Some dogs can also 'predict' human siezures or sniff out cancer.

 

One of my dogs can whine about about a thunderstorm 3 hours down the road. Handy thing if you ask me.

 

Hold on now. 6th sense implies some other sense completely. Dogs that sniff out seizures and cancer are, by virtue of the fact that they're sniffing, using one of the good old-fashioned 5 senses.

 

No, I don't think dogs and cats have a 6th sense. I think they have some sense that are much finer then ours so that they can pick up on things we don't even notice. I don't think we need to start looking to the supernatural (I don't mean ghosts I mean beyond what we know of how we perceive the natural world) when perfectly good explanations are right in front of us.

[WishboneDawn]

I'm wondering at how people here are using the term 6th sense. To me, it should mean a sense apart and separate from the traditional 5. But I'm reading things here and nothing is pointing to that. Everything could likely be explained by one of the 5 senses. Just because they pick up things we can't is no big deal. We're just not that hot when it comes to some of our senses.

[WishboneDawn]

But then how do we explain how other animals don't sense the same things? In my case, both of our dogs were present for this particular incident and the other was completely clueless about everything. The other dog likes everyone, even the people that the the first dog can't stand.

 

To be fair, the first dog, the one that reacts so harshly sometimes, is uber-sensitive to most things, and the other...well, he's just naturally relaxed about everything.

 

Just like humans, dogs are individuals who have different levels of sensitivity. I'm not sure why we should expect the norm would be that all dogs would react the same way. I can hear things my husband can't. He'll sniff out odors I'm not even aware of.

[Just Another Jen]

We call our black lab our alcohol alert. He is very friendly to everyone

Except my fil who is a alcoholic. He goes crazy barking at him.

We've only noticed the aggressive behavior when other people

Are drinking. We tease our teens that the dog will tell us if they've

been drinking.

[cathmom]

Hold on now. 6th sense implies some other sense completely. Dogs that sniff out seizures and cancer are, by virtue of the fact that they're sniffing, using one of the good old-fashioned 5 senses.

 

No, I don't think dogs and cats have a 6th sense. I think they have some sense that are much finer then ours so that they can pick up on things we don't even notice. I don't think we need to start looking to the supernatural (I don't mean ghosts I mean beyond what we know of how we perceive the natural world) when perfectly good explanations are right in front of us.

 

I'm wondering at how people here are using the term 6th sense. To me, it should mean a sense apart and separate from the traditional 5. But I'm reading things here and nothing is pointing to that. Everything could likely be explained by one of the 5 senses. Just because they pick up things we can't is no big deal. We're just not that hot when it comes to some of our senses.

 

Just like humans, dogs are individuals who have different levels of sensitivity. I'm not sure why we should expect the norm would be that all dogs would react the same way. I can hear things my husband can't. He'll sniff out odors I'm not even aware of.

 

You're such a killjoy LOL! :lol:

 

As for the person the OP doesn't like, but you've never told your dog that, the dog knows. And probably doesn't like her because you don't.

[WishboneDawn]

You're such a killjoy LOL! :lol:

 

:D I'm horrible. I'm not sure why but I let the discussion get under my skin this morning. I went through my supernatural phase as a teenager and young adult. I am now in my age of reason. :)

[Jacquelyn in NC]

I'm not sure. A lot of the "odd" behavior dogs exhibit can be traced to their heightened senses -- sniffing out cancer or being better attuned to the weather. There are a few things our dog does, though, which I have never been able to explain.

 

There is a man who walks by our house several times a week. This isn't unusual, as we live in a quiet neighborhood and there are quite a few walkers and bicyclers that go by throughout the day. Our dog will sometimes sit at the window and watch people pass, but unless they have a dog with them she is quiet. This one man, though, is different. She reacts to him EVERY TIME. Barks, hackles up, low growls, the works. Even when she's seen him multiple times a week for the past ten years. Even when she is asleep across the room with the doors and windows shut, she will leap to her feet and race to the window and start barking. I can't explain how she knows he's there, but she does. I don't know the man, and I can honestly say I never want to; her reaction really freaks me out.

[Peela]

I think we are animals too- and most of us are numbed out to our own highly sensitive perceptions of that which is beyond our 5 senses can perceive. We have the capacity to be aware of our 5 senses, and to be aware beyond our 5 senses.

So yes...but we have that capacity also- some are just more open to it than others. There are many cases of animals doing strange things. I know someone who had a brain tumour, and her cat used to insist on laying right up against her head where the tumour was, to sleep.

 

I mean, what sense makes birds suddenly make a nest, or fly south? There is far more we don't understand than we do.

[Kebo]

I agree that dogs and other animals have heightened senses that can make their abilities seem eerie and intuitive. Not a 6th sense, per se, but an extra dimension of using the 5 we share. And, just like people, some individuals are more alert to what their senses are telling them.

 

My personal story involved the Alaskan malamute I had growing up. A VERY smart dog. He was only aggressive to people twice in his life. Once, he went straight from asleep on our living room floor, to up and flying out the door (he could open our screen doors). We followed him, and saw a strange man running from our garage. That man scaled our 6 foot fence, with our dog on his heels, and hit the ground running.

 

The second time he was aggressive was when he was introduced to a young man who was going to take care of him while we were out of town. Our dog wasn't outright aggressive then, but he was acting strangely -- slightly agitated and kind of nibbling on the guy's jeans. When we left town, we got a phone call that the dog wouldn't let him in the house. We called someone else to take care of our dog, and that person was able to do so with no problems. I wondered what it was about the first person that set him off; my guess was he smelled of drugs or alcohol.

 

ETA: Oh, I forgot about my cat -- he loved pregnant women. He had no interest in most visitors, but if a pregnant friend was visiting, he liked to come out and sit on her belly. He spent a lot of time on my belly during my pregnancies, too. Who knows why? I guess he could smell the change in hormones...

Edited August 23, 2011 by Kebo
Had to correct my grammar : -)

[LauraGB]

:D I'm horrible. I'm not sure why but I let the discussion get under my skin this morning. I went through my supernatural phase as a teenager and young adult. I am now in my age of reason. :)

 

:lol:

 

I don't mean 6th sense as in "I see dead people" or anything, just a...heightened intuition. In some of the cases mentioned, I can't see how the dogs could taste, touch, see, hear, or even smell some of the situations. Some of them can be explained, as amazing as they are, but not all of them. I don't see it, anyway.

[Mom in High Heels]

Absolutely. When I was growing up we had a dog who did not like a new neighbor of ours. She would growl every time she saw him and take a defensive stance (she was a small dog). Six months after they moved in, he shot his wife (she lived) and it came out that he had been beating her for years.

 

Both times I've been pregnant our dogs became very protective of me and barely left my side.

[Kebo]

nm

Edited August 26, 2011 by Kebo
decided against posting this...

[DarlaS]

Considering that dogs have been trained to sniff cancer, and know when an epileptic seizure is coming, I sure bet the dog was right, but about what, we may never know.

 

Kind of what I was thinking. It may or may not have anything to do with the person's character.

 

Our GSD flipped out when a teenage girl showed up on our doorstep yesterday looking for a friend (She was lost.). She sure didn't look threatening to me.

[SonshineLearner]

We call our black lab our alcohol alert. He is very friendly to everyone

Except my fil who is a alcoholic. He goes crazy barking at him.

We've only noticed the aggressive behavior when other people

Are drinking. We tease our teens that the dog will tell us if they've

been drinking.

 

This is how my pup is, too. He's crazy friendly to all, except alcohol and skateboards. He hates those.

 

I do think that dogs pick up on all sorts of things, with their sense of smell :)

[DarlaS]

This is how my pup is, too. He's crazy friendly to all, except alcohol and skateboards. He hates those.

 

I do think that dogs pick up on all sorts of things, with their sense of smell :)

 

The roofer our GSD took an instant dislike to was a smoker. Hmm... never saw any of the other guys smoking.

 

ETA: Now that I think of it, the girl smelled a bit like smoke too. Only spoke to her long enough to let her know Bobby didn't live here.

[J-rap]

He surely sensed something, but who knows what! It could have been a certain smell...who knows! I've usually trusted my dogs, although sometimes I had no idea why.

I did have a dog who could sense an earthquake before it hit. He would start running little circles wherever he was.

[Mom in High Heels]

I did have a dog who could sense an earthquake before it hit. He would start running little circles wherever he was.

 

I forgot about this! We were in IL in 07 (or maybe 08) when an earthquake hit. My dogs were acting squirrely all evening. I had no idea what was wrong with them, and that night, there was an earthquake. The next morning they were calm until about mid-morning and then they went nuts again. An hour or so later the aftershocks started. Weird.

 

My mom's dogs ALWAYS know when a storm is coming. They go crazy (she has to sedate one during a severe storm with meds the vet gives her). During the last hurricane, she had to sedate both of them. Not put them to sleep sedate, just enough to calm them down so they don't climb the walls and howl like werewolves.

[grace'smom]

I'm not sure. A lot of the "odd" behavior dogs exhibit can be traced to their heightened senses -- sniffing out cancer or being better attuned to the weather. There are a few things our dog does, though, which I have never been able to explain.

 

There is a man who walks by our house several times a week. This isn't unusual, as we live in a quiet neighborhood and there are quite a few walkers and bicyclers that go by throughout the day. Our dog will sometimes sit at the window and watch people pass, but unless they have a dog with them she is quiet. This one man, though, is different. She reacts to him EVERY TIME. Barks, hackles up, low growls, the works. Even when she's seen him multiple times a week for the past ten years. Even when she is asleep across the room with the doors and windows shut, she will leap to her feet and race to the window and start barking. I can't explain how she knows he's there, but she does. I don't know the man, and I can honestly say I never want to; her reaction really freaks me out.

 

There may be something innocent about how the man looks that bothers her... Watch him and see if you can spot any differences that might explain it. We thought our dog was intuitive until we realized she barks at anyone wearing a hat. Even my husband. I think it scares her when she can't see their eyes. She also barks at the UPS man- but to be honest I can see how a very loud, fast moving vehicle pulling up to the house followed by a man running to your porch and throwing something at it could set a dog off. :D

[Haiku]

I definitely think they do. Some people who have seizures have dogs whose job it is to warn them that a seizure is coming.

 

Tara

[all4them]

Ours once wwoke me up when we were surrounded by tornados.

 

I had been watching the weather, but they said that we were in the clear...so I went to bed. About 30 minutes later, she was jumping on my face(never does this). Turned on the TV and there were three swirlies within about 5 miles of our house.

 

\\elle

[Mom in High Heels]

Interestingly, there a story on the Today Show today about how many the animals at the National Zoo in DC started acting "weird" before the earthquake. What interesting timing that we should be talking about this.

[Mama Geek]

Years ago my dog realized that there was a tornado headed towards the backyard before I did. We were in a basement apartment and the back and side walls were surrounded by dirt.

 

I also have heard that before a tsunami any animal that can heads to higher ground.

 

I would say they know a lot of things before we do.

[JudoMom]

Several of you mentioned labs...How many of you are referring to labs when you talk about these incidents? Rosie is a lab...(our other dog is not)

 

I was wondering the same thing. We were puppy sitting our friend's chocolate lab during the summer for 15 days, and he was loveable and oafey with everyone. We had in-laws visit and several contractors/roofers were here to do work during that time. He strongly disliked one of the contractors--wouldn't go near him. His behavior was odd enough that it caught our attention.

[celticmom]

My mother used to have a collie that liked most people but went berserk when an airconditioning repairman came. The dog reacted right away before the repairman even looked at her system. Mom thought the repairman might be lying when he said that a new compressor was needed(very expensive). She had another repairman come out and she did not need a new compressor and the repair was much less expensive. Her collie liked the second repairman just fine.